Ivan Vasilyevich is the hero from after the ball. The image of Ivan Vasilyevich in the story "After the Ball" Urgent!!!! Help!!!!! Chaotic family life

Reflections on the image of Ivan Vasilyevich, on whose behalf the narration is conducted in Tolstoy’s story “After the Ball,” force the reader to properly appreciate spiritual qualities main character. In his youth, Ivan Vasilyevich seems amazing; in his soul there is love not only for a beautiful girl, but also for the entire world around him. The young student is kind and has lofty and noble aspirations. He sincerely admires the beauty of the young girl. But at the same time, he is surprisingly timid when communicating with her. This is confirmed by his words: “The more I was in love, the more incorporeal she became for me.”

Young student Ivan Vasilievich does not set himself complex issues, to which an answer must be found at all costs. He is attracted to life itself in all its beauty and grandeur. Talking about an event of his youth, Ivan Vasilyevich says: “I don’t know whether it’s good or bad, but at that time at our university we didn’t have any circles, no theories, but we were just young and lived as is typical of youth: We learned and had fun."

Ivan Vasilyevich loves to attend balls, he is attracted by dancing, and especially by the opportunity to dance at a ball with the girl he likes. Many people like the beautiful Varenka B., and Ivan Vasilyevich is no exception. The story says that the relationship between the young student and the eighteen-year-old beauty was just beginning. The young man hoped for reciprocity, and this hope warmed and inspired him. Perhaps, if Ivan Vasilyevich had asked for the hand of his beloved, he would not have been refused, and the beautiful Varenka would have become his wife.

But fate young man changed in one single case. And it is precisely this episode that clearly shows the true nobility of the young man. The scene of the punishment of the fugitive soldier had a colossal impact on Ivan Vasilyevich. No matter how much he wants, he is unable to forget what he saw. But at the same time, he did not consider himself to have the right to condemn the colonel for such an inhumane attitude towards the soldier.

An accidental episode that Ivan Vasilyevich witnessed did not allow him to continue his relationship with the beautiful Varenka. For the young student, the father and his daughter were one. And from then on, when Ivan Vasilyevich looked at the girl, he imagined a scene of beating a soldier. Also, the episode he saw did not allow him to subsequently enter the military or any other service. This testifies to the moral search that the student was conducting, perhaps without even realizing it. He was looking for answers to questions about human humanity and heartlessness. The answers were not found, and that is why Ivan Vasilyevich tried to choose a position of removal for himself.

Ivan Vasilyevich is a humanist prone to idealization. Literally at the very beginning of the story, it becomes clear how strongly he idealizes both the girl herself and the colonel, her father. They appear as completely special, flawless people, the embodiment of an ideal that is hardly possible on this sinful earth. And how quickly a student has to be disappointed in his delusions! It is no coincidence that the story is called “After the Ball.” After the holiday, epiphany comes. The young man sees the true face of a man endowed with power, who does not have a drop of pity in his heart for the defenseless soldier.

Ivan Vasilyevich evokes the deepest sympathy in the reader. What he saw in his youth shaped his character in a very special way. After this, Ivan Vasilyevich was unable to enter the service, because he did not want to become like Colonel B. Ivan Vasilyevich does not protest against the existing laws of society. He just lives his life. But at the same time, he represents a type of intellectual thinker, close to critically perceiving existing laws, which are striking in their cruelty and inhumanity.

Ivan Vasilievich - narrator and main character story by L.N. Tolstoy “After the Ball”. The story is told on his behalf, from him we learn the love story of Ivan Vasilyevich and its strange ending.

At the beginning of the story, we have before us an already aged hero - “respected by all,” truthful, sincere, towards whom those around him treat with obvious sympathy. This beginning sets the stage for acceptance of the story and a positive assessment of the hero’s actions.

Ivan Vasilyevich’s memories are prompted by a conversation about what a person needs for personal improvement. The hero recalls an incident from his youth in the 40s years XIX century in a provincial town. He was a student, “lived as is typical for youth: he studied and had fun” and was in love with Varenka B. Moreover, his love was very pure and as if “incorporeal”: he looked at the girl like an angel and felt like “some kind of unearthly creature "

(Colonel and Varenka's Father gracefully dances with his daughter)

Most of Ivan Vasilyevich’s story (and the work itself) takes place at the ball, where the hero dances with Varenka, is touched by both her and her father. Even his father’s unfashionable boots seem beautiful to Ivan Vasilyevich: “I was especially touched by his boots, covered with strips - good calf boots, but not fashionable...”

When you are happy and in love, everything around you seems beautiful: “At that time I embraced the whole world with my love.” Over time, this feeling will either calm down, become earthly, or disappear. The second thing happened to Ivan Vasilyevich, only the reason for the hero’s cooling turned out to be not entirely ordinary, “a case” - as he himself put it.

(Unforgettable dance in Ivan Vasilyevich’s soul with Varenka)

Unable to sleep after the ball, on the morning of Lent (the ball took place on the evening of Maslenitsa), Ivan Vasilyevich sets off to wander the streets. And his legs themselves carry him to the house where Varenka lives. The house stands on the outskirts of the city, “on a field”, at the end of which the hero sees “something big, black.”

It turned out that a fugitive soldier was being punished there. He was carried through two rows of soldiers, who beat the unfortunate man one by one, turning his back into a bloody mess. And Varenka’s father commanded the punishment; he strictly ensured that the soldiers hit with full force.

(Ivan Vasilyevich witnessed what he saw, the colonel, who is also Varenka’s father, cruelly punishes the fugitive)

...Something turned upside down in Ivan Vasilyevich’s soul. He seemed to understand that, apparently, this was necessary, even necessary. But only with the mind. My heart and soul could not find any justification for the torture: “Obviously, he (Varenka’s father) knows something that I don’t know,” I thought about the colonel. “If I knew what he knows, I would understand what I saw, and it would not torment me.”

The hero was able to fall asleep only in the evening, when he got drunk with a friend. And then love somehow waned by itself.

Characteristics of the hero

Ivan Vasilyevich was a very ordinary young man in his youth. In the story, he himself emphasizes that he led a normal life for a student: having fun, studying. He did not participate in any circles, did not adhere to any theories. I rode with young ladies from the mountains, drank champagne when I had money, danced a lot and fell in love more than once. This “ordinariness” is very important for the author’s intention.

When Ivan Vasilyevich sees a picture of torture, he does not resist it with his mind, that is, he cannot or is afraid to accept the truth that a crime is happening next to him. He cannot realize that society, the people who surround him, are deceitful, hypocritical: “... no matter how much I thought, I could not understand what the colonel knows...” He lacks either intelligence, or courage, or - not yet the time has come for the right conclusions.

However, the hero's heart is wiser than his head. What he saw changed the life of Ivan Vasilyevich. He could not go to serve, although he had intended to, and in the pensive Varenka he now saw a colonel in the square.

The hero remained alone, did not serve anywhere - neither in the army, nor as an official, because such a blatant contrast between the colonel at the ball and the colonel in the square latently makes him suspect that there is a “wrong side” in people. Ivan Vasilyevich chose to protect himself, not to face this very “wrong side”, not to fight with it. This is cowardice, a protest of the powerless.

The image of the hero in the work

L. N. Tolstoy using the example of himself ordinary person shows that the understanding of good and bad is given to a person a priori - regardless of facts, experience, beliefs or lack thereof. Where is it from? Kant called this knowledge moral proof of the existence of God. Otherwise, who would give us the understanding of what is good and what is evil?

But Tolstoy’s goal is not this textbook truth for the reader of the early twentieth century. According to the author, it is important not only NOT to be on the side of evil, but also to fight it. After all, the colonel may not be completely bad, it’s just that the state, the authorities taught him that “it’s so right,” that to beat and torture means to restore and maintain order.

Let us immediately make a reservation that Tolstoy is not at all on the side of revolutionary upheavals. His method is re-education, rethinking the structure of the world by the entire society. Therefore, one cannot remain indifferent. You can’t bury your head in the sand, like Ivan Vasilyevich, and move away from service and people.

Ivan Vasilyevich is an example of spiritual capitulation to the world, an example of “lying to save yourself” (he never dares to condemn what he saw on the field). According to Tolstoy, the world will change when we stop putting up with cruelty, even if it is legal. No, revolutions are not needed—we need propaganda of goodness, justice, and mercy.

The deep meaning of a small story

Getting acquainted with the events of just one day, you can give detailed description To Ivan Vasilyevich from the story “After the Ball” by Tolstoy. The talented writer managed to draw with a few strokes inner world person, to understand his condition. Within small work Not only personal but also social problems are solved. Do we need things for a long time? days gone by? L.N. Tolstoy convinces us that knowledge of history helps us live correctly, not make mistakes, and adequately assess reality. The past and present are closely connected.

L. N. Tolstoy's story “After the Ball” takes us back to the distant past, but remains in demand in our modern XI century. They rise in it eternal problems existence that is relevant for any person. Question moral choice– one of the main ones in this work, small in volume but quite deep in content.

Meet the main character

Everyone at least once has to make decisions that affect future fate. Main character L. N. Tolstoy’s story “After the Ball” also faces a choice.

Handsome, young, rich

Man telling cautionary tale – central character works. A man recalls a story that radically changed his life. The description of Ivan Vasilyevich from the story “After the Ball” is put into the mouth of the hero himself. Many years ago he was a young man, studying, having fun, falling in love. Possessing an attractive appearance, a large fortune and a good disposition, Ivan Vasilyevich had many friends and enjoyed success with women. The young man could allow himself to have fun and not think about the future. His “pleasure was evenings and balls.” He was the same as his peers, he lived his life like everyone else. “We were just young, and we lived as is typical of youth: we studied and had fun,” explains the narrator.

Good fellow

In the story “After the Ball,” the author does not characterize Ivan Vasilyevich. But from the text it becomes clear that he was an ordinary young man. Kind by nature, he sincerely saw only the good in people. The provincial leader and his wife are sweet married couple, the colonel is a loving and caring father, Varenka is an angel who descended from heaven, with “affectionate, always cheerful smile at the mouth." We understand that the young man in love is naive and selfless. He lives in a happy present and dreams of the future.

Life split in two

Happiness at the ball

The cruel reality of one morning dispelled his dreams and confronted Ivan Vasilyevich with difficult task. The technique of antithesis used by the author helps to understand the state of the main character. His life seemed to be split in two. The description of the ball is filled with a feeling of happiness and love. Throughout the evening, the young man does not leave his beloved girl. White dress brides, sounds of waltz, kind smiles - these details help create a unique picture holiday.

Horror after the ball

The terrible picture of the execution of a fugitive soldier made the young man take a different look at modern reality. Unpleasant, sharp sounds, black uniforms, and a red back symbolize pain, misfortune and horror. Reality destroyed dreams and dreams. Ivan Vasilievich.

Difficult choice

“My whole life changed from one night or morning.” The hero must decide how to live further. He could pretend that nothing had happened and continue to communicate with the family of the colonel who led the terrible torture of the unfortunate Tatar. Propose to your girlfriend, get married, have children and live like everyone else around you. After all, cruel corporal punishment, the colonel’s duplicity, and the indifference of passers-by are the norm for most of his contemporaries. However, the young man chooses a different path. And this choice is a protest of the immorality and cruelty of the laws that reigned during the reign of Nicholas I. The main character is not able to communicate with Varenka, since she resembles her father, and he does not know how to pretend and lie. He “felt somehow awkward and unpleasant.” Changes plans for the future, abandons his career. “I couldn’t enter military service, as I wanted before, and not only didn’t serve in the military, but I didn’t serve anywhere and, as you can see, I wasn’t fit for anything.” Having lost a lot, he retains the main thing: honor and dignity. This morning changed later life Ivan Vasilyevich, made him look at the people around him differently. But nothing could make him change himself. In the story “After the Ball,” Ivan Vasilyevich is depicted as a man who is not afraid of public opinion and acts according to his conscience.

Lessons from the piece

It is not easy to choose the right path in your life. “To live honestly, you have to rush, get confused, struggle, make mistakes, start and give up again, because calm is spiritual meanness", he said himself great writer L. N. Tolstoy. It is important to make such decisions so that later you will not be ashamed of your actions. The main character of the story “After the Ball” is an example to follow. His actions teach honesty and nobility.

Work test

When people talk about L.N. Tolstoy, they immediately remember the wonderful epic works Russian classics such as “War and Peace” or “Anna Karenina”. But Lev Nikolaevich is good in small forms. When he takes on a story or story, his talent does not change him at all. The focus is on “After the Ball.” This article will examine the characteristics of the characters in “After the Ball.”

Plot

The reason for the story is old story, the age-old question: the environment makes a person or a person creates his environment. There is a conversation between familiar people, and it concerns personal improvement.

The main character, Ivan Vasilyevich, a man respected by everyone in the circle where the conversation is taking place, tells one story from his life, which refutes the fact that a person is shaped by his environment.

It was a long time ago, one of the main provincial officials was throwing a ball in honor of last day Maslenitsa. The entire provincial elite came to the ball.

Ivan Vasilyevich was then a university student from the same city. There was nothing to do, and the main entertainment was attending such events. At this ball he saw a girl - Varenka B. and fell madly in love with her. I only danced with her. Varenka was the daughter of Colonel Pyotr Vladislavovich, who, together with his wife, honored all those gathered with their presence at the holiday.

Father had to go home. And to say goodbye, he danced with his daughter, so dashingly that everyone was absolutely delighted. Seeing this, young Ivan Vasilyevich was imbued with warm feelings towards the old man. The colonel left, but the young people (Varenka and Vanya) were still dancing. In the morning everyone left. Here the events of the work “After the Ball” calm down. The heroes of the story cannot yet be suspected of anything bad.

The hero couldn’t sleep, and he went wandering around the city. Accidentally, unconsciously, he came to the house of his sweetheart. In the field adjacent to the house there was a line of soldiers. Accompanied by the beating of drums and the sound of a flute, they let the fugitive Tatar pass through the ranks. He was beaten as hard as he could with sticks on his back. His back had already turned into a bloody mess, and he himself only repeated: “Lord, brothers, have mercy.” He said this quietly, because he no longer had enough strength to scream.

The torture was led by the “dear colonel,” who had recently danced with his daughter at a ball. After this event, Ivan Vasilyevich’s love for Varya passed. Every time he looked at her face, he saw the Tatar and his back.

Perhaps the reader is tired of the excessive detail of the plot, but its consideration is absolutely necessary in order to understand which characteristics of the characters in “After the Ball” most suit them.

Ivan Vasilyevich is a man whose conscience has awakened

What happened to Ivan Vasilyevich then? Then, after the ball, his conscience awoke, and he himself woke up from his sleep. So much so that it seems as if he was lashed with a whip, so sudden was the awareness of the baseness of the general, the “light”, which is no different from darkness in a moral sense. So, we can already say that the first characteristics of the characters in “After the Ball” are ready: the main character can be defined as a person who has a conscience.

Colonel

Here everything is a little more complicated. It cannot be said that the colonel and his daughter are unscrupulous people. For them, the hierarchy that existed in Russia in the 19th century is simply normal. It is also normal that after the holiday they can warm up or calm their excited nerves by torturing a person. There is nothing out of the ordinary about this.

The reader can rightly say that if you really think about what characteristics of the heroes of “After the Ball” (meaning specifically the colonel), then you only need to blame the old soldier for everything. Oh no, that won't do. The colonel's women are no less to blame for his fanaticism than he himself. After all, they didn’t stop him from doing them.

Varenka

Nothing bad can be said about the daughter of a fanatic, but nothing good can be said about her either. She is a faceless character in the story. Only one memory will remain of her: she was stunningly beautiful, but it is difficult to define her meaningfully if we're talking about about the disclosure of the topic “Characteristics of the heroes “After the Ball””.

Moral issues raised in the work

So, here at the center of the work is the eternal dispute about the confrontation between the individual and society. The author also focuses his attention (and the reader’s attention) on the abomination of human duplicity and double-mindedness.

L.N. Tolstoy in this story even indirectly gives an answer to the question of why, in fact, the Russian revolution happened: because the “tops” allowed themselves to treat the “bottoms” in such a way, and the “bottoms” took revenge. This is the brief moral content of “After the Ball.” In fact, this story may unfold with a fan of other moral problems, but that is a completely different story.

/ / / The image of Ivan Vasilyevich in Tolstoy’s story “After the Ball”

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is one of the brightest writers in Russian and world literature. Millions of people are captivated by his works, because many of them are still relevant today. One of outstanding works Tolstoy's story "After the Ball". It captivates the reader with its ease and realism. And this happens because the author wrote it with real life situation which happened to his brother.

The main character of Tolstoy's story "" is Ivan Vasilyevich. This is no longer a young man who enjoyed authority in society. We first meet him in one of the living rooms, where a dispute broke out between those present. philosophical theme about what influences a person’s choice. Some said that the choice is influenced by the surrounding “environment”, others objected to this. Ivan Vasilyevich judged this dispute and said that a person’s choice is influenced by chance. To confirm his words, he told one story that happened to him in his youth.

So, it was in the middle of the 19th century, when Ivan Vasilyevich was as a young boy. At that time he was a student at one of the provincial universities. And like all students, I lived life to the fullest: had fun, fooled around, somehow studied. I would like to immediately note that Ivan Vasilyevich was attractive in appearance, so he was popular with young ladies.

At that time, the main character was in love with the colonel's daughter Varenka. The girl was simply lovely. Her statuesque figure was crowned with a sweet smile. At the ball, which Varenka’s father organized, Ivan Vasilyevich did not leave his beloved for a minute. He was completely uninterested in other girls. The young people danced all evening long. The main character considered himself truly happy man. He was ready to hug and kiss the whole world. Ivan Vasilyevich thought that all people were so kind and sweet, that there was no place for evil and cruelty in the world.

In such an elevated mood, the main character returned to his home. The emotions he experienced did not allow him to sleep. Ivan Vasilyevich went for a walk. He was intoxicated with his happiness and therefore walked wherever his eyes looked. The melody of the mazurka sounded in Ivan Vasilyevich’s head; it seemed to him that even the horses passing by were smiling at him.

The high spirits of the protagonist were interrupted by the sounds of disturbing music. Ivan Vasilyevich did not notice how he arrived at Varenka’s house. There he saw how soldiers were led through the line of soldiers tied to guns and each of them beat the unfortunate man on the back with a stick. The Tatar screamed and begged for mercy, but no one heard him. The most terrible thing was that this “execution” was commanded by Varenka’s father, that sweet and good-natured man who had danced at the ball a few hours earlier. Now he was a cruel and evil tyrant who ensured that the punishment was carried out.

The event he saw made an indelible impression on Ivan Vasilyevich. He ran away from there in horror. For a long time he heard the screams of the unfortunate Tatar, who begged for mercy.

This incident changed Ivan Vasilyevich’s plans for life. He refused military service. Now the main character has seen a completely different world, a world that is filled with cruelty and anger, where everyone is for himself. Ivan Vasilyevich seemed to have seen the light. Perhaps that incident made him grow up and look at the world through the eyes of an adult. As for the feelings for Varenka, they soon cooled down and “came to naught.”